But this idea has been rejected by Jenrick, who told supporters attempts at reform were “as doomed to fail” as David Cameron’s renegotiation of EU membership in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum.
He said he was “not in favour of banging on about Europe”, but the issue had become a “running sore” that could remain unresolved for “year after year”.
As well as making it “impossible to secure our borders”, he claimed the treaty had stymied the removal of “dozens of terrorists” and “dangerous foreign criminals”.
Echoing the choice at the Brexit vote, he added: “It boils down to this: it’s leave or remain”, adding he wanted to “end this farce once and for all”.
“Frankly, our party doesn’t have a future unless we take a stand and fix this problem. It’s leave or die for our party.”
On Tuesday, Jenrick was pressed on his widely-criticised claim that UK special forces are killing rather than capturing terrorists “as a result of the constraints imposed upon our armed forces by the ECHR”.
Asked what evidence he had by Radio 4’s Today programme, Jenrick said: “The point I was making was one that our former defence secretary Ben Wallace has made, which is that our human rights apparatus including the ECHR is encroaching on the battlefield.”
Asked for details, Jenrick said it would be inappropriate for an ex-minister “to elaborate on particular cases”.
